Brain-Based Worship: Re-Membering the Mind-Body Connection" (2014)
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Digital Commons @ George Fox University Doctor of Ministry Seminary 5-1-2014 Brain-Based Worship: Re-membering the Mind- Body Connection Paula Champion-Jones George Fox University, [email protected] This research is a product of the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program at George Fox University. Find out more about the program. Recommended Citation Champion-Jones, Paula, "Brain-Based Worship: Re-membering the Mind-Body Connection" (2014). Doctor of Ministry. Paper 72. http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/dmin/72 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Seminary at Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY BRAIN-BASED WORSHIP: RE-MEMBERING THE MIND-BODY CONNECTION A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GEORGE FOX EVANGELICAL SEMINARY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY PAULA CHAMPION-JONES PORTLAND, OREGON MARCH 2014 ii George Fox Evangelical Seminary George Fox University Portland, Oregon CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL ________________________________ DMin Dissertation ________________________________ This is to certify that the DMin Dissertation of Paula Champion-Jones has been approved by the Dissertation Committee on March 3, 2014 for the degree of Doctor of Ministry in Semiotics and Future Studies. Dissertation Committee: Primary Advisor: Laura Simmons, PhD Secondary Advisor: Celeste Snowber, PhD Lead Mentor: Leonard I. Sweet, PhD Expert Advisor: Kimberly Shumate iii Copyright © 2014 by Paula Champion-Jones All rights reserved iv To Joe, who deserves it v CONTENTS ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... VII SECTION 1: THE PROBLEM ........................................................................................... 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 Sunday or Funday? ......................................................................................................... 2 Dismembered .................................................................................................................. 4 SECTION 2: OTHER SOLUTIONS .................................................................................. 8 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 8 Propositional Sermons and Standardized Curriculum .................................................... 9 Seeker Services and Praise and Worship ...................................................................... 12 Organic Church ............................................................................................................. 17 Thus Far ........................................................................................................................ 24 SECTION 3: THE THESIS .............................................................................................. 26 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 26 Reunited ........................................................................................................................ 27 Why Should I Care? ...................................................................................................... 30 Seven Brain Basics ....................................................................................................... 32 Brain Basic # 1: The Brain Formulates Meaning by Detecting Patterns .................. 32 Brain Basic #2: The Brain is Easily Threatened ....................................................... 38 Brain Basic #3: The Brain Resists Being Controlled................................................ 42 Brain Basic #4: Because the Brain Functions as a Parallel Processor, the More Senses Involved in Learning, the More We Remember ........................................... 47 Brain Basic #5: Emotions are Essential for Memory................................................ 54 Brain Basic #6: The Brain is Hard-Wired to Remember Story and Metaphor ......... 58 Brain Basic #7: Multimodal Design Enhances Learning .......................................... 70 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 75 SECTION 4: ARTIFACT DESCRIPTION ...................................................................... 79 SECTION 5: ARTIFACT SPECIFICATION .................................................................. 80 SECTION 6: POSTSCRIPT ............................................................................................. 88 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 184 vi ABSTRACT Historically, it has been believed that Christian formation occurs primarily in the context of worship. Because both traditional and contemporary worship services are routinely structured around the skills of persuasive rhetoric and logic, most worship services effectively ignore the impact of experiential, embodied knowledge. Recent research in neuroscience has proven that humans are sensory-motor-emotional-thinking beings who learn best when body, brain, and emotions are simultaneously engaged. A fresh paradigm for teaching, brain-based leaning, is proving to result in learning that is more memorable, more likely to result in long-term change in the behavior of the learner, and more likely to spur the learner to investigate the subject further. The Church needs to employ brain-based teaching methods in order to more effectively transmit the Gospel. This dissertation will concentrate on the use of such methods during worship services. Section 1 describes the discipling crisis the Church is presently facing. Section 2 describes discipling methods that have been and are currently being used. Section 3 describes and proposes the use of brain-based teaching methods as a more formative approach. Section 4 describes the artifact, a non-fiction book written to inform those who plan worship about the theory, use, and benefits of brain-based teaching, It describes how the methods can be employed throughout the worship service. Section 5 consists of the book proposal. Section 6 is the postscript. Section 7 is the artifact itself. vii SECTION 1: THE PROBLEM Introduction It was an atypical Sunday morning when I became an eavesdropper––atypical because I was not at church. Instead, I was visiting my daughter, the ultimate minimalist who has neither TV nor Internet connection in her home. For that reason, I was spending Sunday morning in a local coffee shop. The coffee was good––the scones even better. The décor was fittingly funky. More importantly, the Internet connection was strong. This local gathering space was packed with young men sporting tight jeans and three-day beard growths. The carefully groomed women wore meticulously mismatched clothing. All were bilingual, interspersing fluent English with eloquent Sarcasm. With tables jammed closely together, I could not help overhearing nearby conversations. Soon, I found myself intentionally eavesdropping. At that moment, worship services were starting in churches all around the city, but this was obviously not the Sunday-morning-worship crowd. Nevertheless, the conversations were noticeably spiritual. A group at one table discussed the pros and cons of chastity. Another smaller cluster mused over the book of Job. Others discussed what was wrong with the church and what God might be like if God existed. Interest in spiritual matters was high. The crowd was eager to talk about subjects of substance and issues of eternity. From their comments, some had obviously been raised in the church, but the church was failing to connect with them any longer. 1 2 Sunday or Funday? Polls report that 85 percent of Americans claim to be Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish, but when answering poll questions, we tend to create a holy halo, saying what makes us look good. The articulation of religious identity has little to do with actual behavior. In reality, less than 20 percent of Americans regularly attend church. An increasing number are claiming no religious affiliation at all when asked to state their religious identity.1 In a recent article, The Huffington Post reported that, in comparison to past polls, when asked for religious affiliation, rising numbers of young adults are checking ‘none’: Finally, the rise of the “nones” surely suggests it is the end of religion as we know it. Forget churches; forget priests and pastors; forget the Bible; forget organized religion generally. What is sacred are no longer conventional objects like a cross, a singular religious identity like being a Methodist, nor activities like going to church or prayer. Instead, the religious worlds in the contemporary and future United States are robust and capacious, providing an abundance of spiritual possibilities found in unexpected places like drum circles and meditation exercises, sports events and other expressions from popular culture. It is a brave new world for religious Americans who are increasingly unhinged from traditional authorities and institutions.2 Young adults are more likely to spend Sunday sleeping-in, shopping, or enjoying a day outdoors than attending worship.